417Gamer Podcast Episode 55: The One with '26 Resolutions (and Ben)

·1 hr 58 min·5 clips

Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship is an introductory Pandemic-style game that still felt too hard.

1. Hobby Gaming Network episode 55 centers on 2026 New Year's resolutions and the hosts' favorite games from 2025. 2. Rick, Andrea, and annual guest Ben share the show as a recurring three-person format, with Ben returning once a year to talk games. 3. The episode asks what the hosts actually played in 2025 and how those plays shaped their 2026 goals. 4. The four segment opens with Magical Athlete, a reworked early-2000s roll-and-move race from CMYK Games and Richard Garfield. 5. Magical Athlete uses character powers like Gunk, Banana Peel, the Romantic, the Scoocher, and the Hypnotist to bend the race. 6. The hosts describe one race where movement powers kept pushing players forward and back until the finish line became hard to reach. 7. 10 Days in the National Parks follows as a family-weight plan-your-trip game from Alan R. Moon and The Op. 8. Andrea compares it to a lighter, more family-friendly version of Let's Go to Japan, with a fixed 10-day route built from card tiles. 9. Cretaceous Rails comes next, and Ben connects its rail building, tourists, dinosaurs, and resort cards to a Kickstarter theme that clicked for him. 10. Ben says he has played Cretaceous Rails seven times since October, including after Moon City Con Extra Game Day Gathering. 11. Nana Tori Dori closes the four segment as a card-shedding game with illustrated birds and pair-based play. 12. The hosts compare Nana Tori Dori to Scout and say they would still rather play Scout because it feels tighter. 13. Village Meeple in Springfield, Missouri appears as the local board game cafe where many of the plays and events happen. 14. Ben reviews his 2025 resolution to schedule large games like Dune, John Company, Paranoia, and Arx. 15. He calls that resolution roughly 50% successful because several scheduled games fell through, although Dune did get played at Moon City Con. 16. Andrea revisits her 2025 10-by-10 goal and says Obsession displaced Lost Ruins of Arnak after five extra plays. 17. Ben also talks about Crokinole, noting 76 plays last year and using it as a kind of loophole in his count. 18. For 2026, Andrea wants to play five new games twice and better understand rules on a second play instead of only at the end of the first game. 19. The episode stays conversational and practical, with jokes about the basement, rule books, point counting, and game-night habits. 20. Listeners who like board game diaries, yearly challenges, and local play culture will get the most from it; listeners wanting deep rules analysis may skip it.

As heard by us

A year-end board-game chat with Ben, four recent favorites, and a clear look at 2025 and 2026 resolutions.

This year-end board-game check-in has a relaxed, familiar shape. Ben returns for his annual appearance, and the hosts move through 2025 New Year's resolutions, 2026 resolutions, and seven favorite games published in 2025.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a returning-guest episode built around 2025 resolutions and seven favorite games from 2025.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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